Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ contacted law enforcement officials in the early hours of Monday, January 23. A license plate reader (LPR) installed by the university had identified a suspect vehicle as it was traveling east on Route 322, which runs right through the campus.

Within a short time after the call, police had located the Toyota Sienna identified by the LPR system which had taken a photo of the mini van’s license plate and compared it to the system’s database of stolen vehicles. The LPR campus security tactic not only allowed police to recover the stolen vehicle, but led to shoplifting and drug possession charges for two of the three occupants when the Sienna was stopped at 1:25 a.m. on the southeast boundary of campus.

Rowan University Administration purchased several license plate reader systems from ELSAG North America at the end of 2008 to help identify suspect vehicles that enter campus boundaries. “The university is located in a high traffic area of town with a highway running right through the middle of the campus,” said Nate Maloney, VP of Marketing and Communications for ELSAG. “It’s likely that local vehicles which police have identified as being under suspicion will at some point travel onto university grounds.”

LPR campus security measures are increasing across the country. The plate readers can identify suspect vehicles on campus but can also alert public safety officials if suspect vehicles are approaching campus. LPR perimeter security and on-campus security systems consist of mobile and fixed plate readers that continuously read any license plate that comes into the view of the LPR cameras, “reading” up to 900 plates per minute, per camera. Each plate number read by the LPR system is automatically and instantaneously compared to law enforcement databases, also known as Hot Lists. Hot Lists contain the license plates of vehicles suspected of being involved in illegal activity (stolen vehicle or license plate, getaway car for a robbery or other crime, drug trafficking, kidnapping, missing person, pedophile, potential witness, etc.).

When ELSAG’s LPR system matches a license plate it has read with a license plate on the Hot List, it broadcasts alarms in real time to nearby campus and/or police patrol units as well as police dispatch. Each alarm audibly states the nature of the offense connected to the suspect vehicle. The alarm also sends visual information to police computers, both in the patrol car and the dispatch desk at the police station. The visual information includes a photo of the license plate (including a good bit of the vehicle itself), the date and time of the camera’s read, as well as GPS coordinates of the vehicle when the photo was taken. Police now know where to find the car and stop it for investigation. “University campuses are busy places. Without license plate readers assisting public safety efforts, suspect vehicles can hide in plain sight because there is no probable cause for questioning,” said Maloney.

To learn more about ELSAG’s LPR systems or how to initiate LPR perimeter security, on-campus security and other ways LPR can aid your public safety missions, contact ELSAG today. www.elsag.com// info@elsag.com// 877-77-ELSAG (773.5724).